Special Forum: Arts & Crafts Collecting

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Permalink Reply by Bill Roberts on December 29, 2008 at 3:48pm

Hi Barbara,

I read your article "A Collector's Notebook" in the January-February OHJ and hope you can help me. I have a Roycroft side chair that was my great aunt's that she unfortunately painted (leather seat, hammered nails and all) in white enamel -- she even added decals for that special 1940s touch!

(With a bit of research, I believe that one could prove the chair's provenance goes back to the Listeman family in Boston. A family that was influential in founding the Boston Symphony.)

I would like to know more about the chair, its value, and where to seek restoration of this piece -- if indeed it is worth restoring. Do you have any insight or direction for me? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Bill Roberts
Neillsville, WI
biljen@tds.net

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Rhines on December 30, 2008 at 4:30pm

Hi Bill,

Sounds like an interesting chair. I wish that I could say that paint and decals added a protective layer, like the dust on my furniture, but careful stripping is probably in order. I've heard that you can use a heat gun to get through paint and reveal the original finish, but it sounds difficult and is a scorching risk. Bruce Johnson, the organizer of the Grove Park Inn's annual Arts and Crafts Conference, comes to mind as a good resource. He wrote a book awhile back called The Weekend Refinisher, which covers stripping and refinishing techniques, with an emphasis on A&C furniture. He is also knowledgeable about Roycroft furniture because he wrote a book recently on the history of the Grove Park Inn (GPI) for which the Roycroft Shops made the dining room furniture. You may want to check out the GPI's conference Web site for contact information.

Roycroft furniture is very well made and rare. (The exception is the Little Journeys stand, which is more common and a bit rickety. I own one of them. The stands were mailed flat and put together at home, sort of pre-IKEA.) A chair is much rarer. You may want to do research through the Roycroft Web sites, including Roycrofters-At-Large Association.

Barb

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